Saturday, June 12, 2010

As every country has its own festivals and way of observing them, these age-old festive-activities of course, form the culture of a country.

Thus, Nepal, being the land of heady mixture of unique culture, is also a nest of diversity where 70 ethnic groups with their own religious, cultures, languages and life-styles exist in harmony.

The peaceful coexistence of a multi-religious system and beliefs is one of the most fascinating aspects of Nepal.

Ethnic castes, festivals, social activities, traditional values are the lenses through which the culture of a country is brought into focus. Numerous festivals of Nepal show that she is rich in cultural heritage where festivals are dynamic, enthralling events for every foreign visitor.

Among those, Sithi Nakha (which is celebrated by the Newar community of the Kathmandu Valley is to be celebrated on17th June- Thurs day this year)

Newar Community celebrated Sithi Nakha, traditional festival of the Newars by cleaning water sources just before the start of monsoon. Nakha by cleaning water sources like wells, ponds and stone-spouts and end it with a grand Newari feast of six different varieties of Newari food including Wo (fried lintel bread) and Chatamari (Nepali pizza). This festival is celebrated on the birthday of Kartikeya, son of Lord Shiva and Parvati, to welcome the rainy season. Houses, courtyards, streets and allies are also cleaned during this day. It is believed that cleaning such water sources will bring in rain for good cultivation of crops.